The following was written by Del Jones' grandfather, Charles F. Thomas, Jr., who owned a coal mine in Colorado and supervised tunnel work on the Aqueduct And Hoover and Coulee dams.
“Say, there ain't much use in talkin',”
Said the Gunner to the boss,
“Them engineers is nu'sances
An' they sure would be a loss
If they had to drive a headin'
With a transit an' a rod.”
“Guess we know which way we're goin',
Jest a candle an' a sight;
We know when track ain't level,
When the tunnel, it is tight
Without no guy in fancy pants
A measurin' with a rod.”
“They jest stand around in bunches
With their pencils an' it's great,
How they tells us guys that knows how
How to drive the tunnels straight,
When they peek an' point their fingers
Through a transit at a rod,”
